In the interest of driver comfort within an automotive vehicle, such as a car, it is generally known to provide support to the lumbar region of the back. Lumbar support structures are placed within the lower region of the seat back proximate to where the lumbar region of the driver's back would be located. Lumbar support structures move an area of the seat back forwardly in a direction generally perpendicular to the planar surface of the seat back and against the lumbar region of the driver to support the lumbar region. By supporting the lower vertebral structures of the lumbar region, lumbar support structures support the upper back and provide comfort for drivers, particularly long distance drivers.
While currently available lumbar support structures provide some support to the lumbar region, they often simultaneously cause discomfort to the driver. Particularly, many of the currently available lumbar supports utilize unitary structures, such as paddles, for support. Such paddle structures are generally hard and rigid and do not provide the necessary amount of flexibility which is necessary for accommodating the weight of the driver, the shape of the back, and any physical movement or shifting which occurs while driving. The rigid structures bear against the driver's lumbar region and cause localized areas of uncomfortable pressure in the lumbar region due to their rigidity and the rigidity of the spinal column. Consequently, the driver may have better back support, but will generally experience other discomforts.
Several of the existing lumbar support structures also utilize large numbers of complicated machine parts which increase the weight and cost of the structures, as well as their tendency to malfunction. Furthermore, even with advanced mechanics, adjustment of available lumbar support structures is often difficult. Some mechanical lumbar support structures utilize a handle which is turned by the driver for extending the lumbar support structure. Due to the construction of these lumbar support structures, the handle generally requires a substantial amount of torque in order to accomplish the desired adjustment. The required torque will often times increase as the lumbar support structure is extended further. As may be appreciated, the turning of a handle with high torque would be difficult if not impossible to accomplish when a person is driving. Furthermore, drivers may be too weak to conveniently adjust the lumbar support structures thus reducing their usefulness.
Another drawback to existing lumbar support structure is that many are not infinitely adjustable. For example, adjustments might be accomplished with a handle and a shaft which has a plurality of detents formed therein. Bearings or other suitable structures move into the detents when the handle is turned and a position is chosen. However, the lumbar support structures cannot be adjusted to positions in between the detents, and therefore, and only a limited number of discreet positions of lumbar support are available. As may be appreciated, many drivers will not be comfortable at one of the discreet positions and would be more properly supported by a position somewhere therebetween. Those lumbar support structures which do provide infinite adjustment, do so by utilizing screw structures which require a large number of rotations of the handle to achieve the proper positioning. Furthermore, such screw structures often require high amounts of torque to turn them.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide comfortable and flexible support for the lumbar region of a driver.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide lumbar support for a driver without creating localized pressure points and discomfort to the driver.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a lumbar support which comfortably conforms to the shape of the driver's lumbar region and the weight of the driver as well as to the driver's movements made during driving.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide lumbar support which may be readily and quickly modified without continuous manipulation of adjustment parts and without a high amount of physical exertion from the driver.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a lumbar support structure which is lightweight, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use and adjust, and reliable.